Mobile Suit Zaku
by AkureiGX
Summary: MSZ is the beginning of a long series of stories which follow the life of Xandra Zabi throughout the Universal Century. This story focuses on her life before and during the One Year War.
1. Prelude

**Title**: Mobile Suit Zaku  
**Chapter 00**: Prelude  
**Disclaimer**: Some names, characters, places and events contained in this story are copyrights of Bandai Entertainment. All others are intellectual property of American Zaku Productions. This story is Fanfiction based on the sci-fi anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. It is an original story spin-off of that series which follows the life of Xandra Zabi during the horrific One Year War and post war conflicts.  
**Author's Notes**: The following is a short chapter to get the background info out of the way before the real story starts. It's mainly for those who may not know much about Gundam and provides some needed or at least useful background information. Since I want to focus on the story and not back story, I won't go TOO much into detail with this part, just a short list of the events leading up to chapter 1. 

Chapter 00  
Prelude

Universal Century 0068, a year that would mark great changes in the lives of those who lived in the space colonies of Side 3. On this year, Zeon Zum Deikun, founder of Side 3's autonomous movement and founder of the Republic of Zeon was assassinated. His death would have long lasting impact throughout the Earth Sphere. The Earth Federation, or the Zabi family were just a few of many names that were raised as possible assassins. Degwin Soto Zabi quickly moved in to take power as Zeon's successor and had Deikin loyalists dealt with. Not long after Degwin proclaims Side 3, the Principality of Zeon and installs a dictatorship monarchy with himself installed as Sovereign. Many lives were forever changed on that fateful year, one of those lives were of a young girl named Xandra Yoselyn Zabi, Degwin's niece. He had been taking care of her since her parent's died. Not wanting the 10 year old to be negatively effected by all of the political and military chaos surrounding this transitional period, he made arrangements for her to be sent to Side 6 to attend a boarding school, despite her objections.

While she originally resisted going to Side 6, it didn't take too long for her to develop a liking for it. The colony she was on was peaceful and had a rather small population, a big difference from Zum City and other Side 3 colonies. It was also her first time in an open-type colony, there was something about the solar light being reflected into the colony that made her feel at thought this is what Earth was like. She remained relatively happy and made several friends, due to her being from so far away, no one really knew anything about her family so unlike being on Side 3 she didn't have to walk around with body guards, as she sometimes did in Side 3. Xandra spent 5 years attending school and showed amazing talent in her classes. At 14 years old she had been placed in 12th grade through advancement testing. All her teachers believed that she would be the youngest person in Side 3 to attend college. Xan however, had no such interest, her achievements drew from her desire to return home. Though she enjoyed Side 6 and the friends she made, there was some driving force deep in her soul to return to her homeland.

Xandra's wishes came true and she completed her GED just before her 15th birthday, setting new student records in Side 6. She was happy to finally be in her homeland again, but something had changed in the last 5 years. Zum City was no longer the place she had remembered. There were many soldiers were she remembered there being a handful of police officers. On her return trip, there was security far tighter then when she had departed. And most disturbing was that instead of seeing small transport ships in the space dock, as she recalled. There were now large ships with vary clear weaponry attached to their hulls. On the day of her birthday she finally got to see her uncle Degwin. He was apparently the new head of state and even though she was raised by him for half her life, she actually had to arrange a meeting just to see him. They were both a bit surprised with each other. Xan had grown into quite an attractive young woman while Degwin's health seemed to have gotten worse then she remembered.

During there meeting, he took her on a tour on one of the new military facilities and explained about the changed made in Side 3 over the past few years. He had told her about the Federation Assembly's constant attempts to undermine their independence which even extended to a military blockade, and the need for the Principality to develop a military force. He explained about the warships at the space dock and how they guard Side 3's merchant ships from Federation harassment. But what he showed her next was something that would change the course of her life. Standing before her was a truly immense machine. It stood around 18 meters tall and was the most intimidating thing she had ever seen, with a large glowing "eye" was starring down at her. Degwin said this enormous humanoid machine was called a "mobile suit" and would be the key to maintain Side 3's independence, that these weapons would be the guardians of Side 3 and the protectors of it's people. In that moment her mind became set, she wanted nothing more then to pilot this machine and protect her homeland. When she asked about the suit, Degwin said they had given it a name, it was to be called "Zaku."

**Wrap up**: That's it for now, again just some background to lead into the main story which will begin with Xan having been admitted early into Zeon's new pilot training program and Zum City Military Academy and this is where our story really begins ^_^.


	2. Chapter 01: Academy Life

**Title**: Mobile Suit Zaku  
**Chapter 01**: Academy Life  
**Disclaimer**: Some names, characters, places and events contained in this story are copyrights of Bandai Entertainment. All others are intellectual property of American Zaku Productions. This story is Fanfiction based on the sci-fi anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. It is an original story spin-off of that series which follows the life of Xandra Zabi during the horrific One Year War.  
**Author Notes**: Though I had a year for Xan's birth, I never did select a day. I pondered this for a while and tried to decide on one. One of my first ideas was to simply make it my own birthday, which was in the month of September. However at this time I was also working on my patriotic little side story which is an offshoot of my Production Company's name and in a mix of patriotism, politics and war, I went with the infamous Sept. 11 which isn't too far off from my own birthday of Sept. 25. As for deep meaning, try not to read too deeply as there really isn't any. It was an important day in my life and a date easy to remember.

Chapter 01  
Academy Life  
0073.09.11 UC

Universal Century 0073, September 11th. Today was Xandra's 15th birthday, on this day when most girls would be celebrating with friends and loved ones, she spent it signing paperwork with her uncle for applying to take part in the new Pilot Training Program at the Zum City Military Academy. Still in awe of the Zaku mobile suit she saw, Xan was set on making sure she would be able to pilot it.

It was the first day of class at the Academy and most of the students were eager young soldiers, but not nearly as young as their newest member. Standing in the doorway was a thin teenage girl with somewhat bushy blond hair which hung freely to her shoulders. Her eager blue eyes scanned the room, only to find herself being the youngest person there. Because of her being skipped a few grades in Side 6 she was used to being with older children, however now she was among adults, some of which were twice her age. Her eagerness turned to slight intimidation when they all looked over at her with _what the hell do you think you're doing here_ written all over their faces. Taking a deep breath she took a seat and tried not to think about the others as they went back to their muffled conversations. It was a rather large classroom, with about 30 students, and is struck her as ironic to feel so alone while near so many people. After a few awkward moments the instructor finally arrived and called everyone to attention. The instructor was a middle-aged man with thinning gray hair and brown eyes. He spoke with a slight rasp in his voice as he told the students about what they would be learning. Aside from military basics, he said they would be focusing on on the principals, tactics and maneuvers of a whole new type of warfare, and that they would be the first generation of soldiers to utilize this new form of combat.

The first day came and went and wasn't quite what she thought it would be. She was still a little intimidated by the others but as the class went on she felt more comfortable and confident that she knew what she was getting into. One moment in particular, when she was the only one in the room who could identify what an image of the prototype Zaku was when it was displayed, gave her quite a boost. With class over for the day she was shown to her dorm room where she would be staying until the program was over. Much to her surprise she had a roommate and to top it off, she was hardly older then Xan. The raven haired girl stood a few inches taller and her eye's were concealed behind dark sunglasses. She looked over at Xan with a smile and introduced herself.

"Faye Wong," she said as she extended her hand. "You must be the Sovereign's niece, I've heard quite a bit about you."

Xan was a little surprised to say the least, she quite expecting that. Shaking her hand she replied. "After that class I didn't think I'd be seeing anyone close to my age here."

"Not really by choice, my parents were big shots in the revolution and it was their idea that I enroll in this place." Faye seemed to be trying to hide some degree of anger as she mentioned her parents. "Oh well, not point in thinking about any of that. Out other roommate should be back from class soon also."

"Other roommate?" Xan asked.

"Yeah, another youngen, guess they figured since there was only three of us in the whole place that they would stick us together. I think her name was Madison Reese." As she spoke, the dorm's door opened. "Speaking of which..."

As the door opened another young girl about their age stepped into the room, she had short red hair and green eyes and was sporting a rather tight fitting uniform. "Damn bunch o' pervs is all they are." Madison spoke with a slight accent that Xan couldn't really identify off the top of her head, but she knew it was European of some kind.

"The old men giving you trouble again? I told you to tell them to give you the right size uniform, but you just gotta show off." Said Faye with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Xan could sense that the two of them seemed to have known each other for a while and hoped she wouldn't be dragged into it. She quietly went to her room to unpack. She didn't bring much with her, about a week's worth of clothes and some personal items, knowing that from now on she'd be wearing mostly uniforms, it would have been pointless to bring along everything she had at Side 6. But one thing she couldn't leave behind, her most treasured possession, a locket with a picture of her parents. She lost them both while she was still too young to remember them, and this picture was the only thing of theirs she had. It had been a while since Xan gave them much thought, but ever since returning to Side 3 and seeing just how influential her family was, she just couldn't get them out of her mind. Now that she stopped to think of it, she didn't even know how they died. She remembered hearing once, something about her mother having died when she was born, but no one ever really spoke about her father.

Xan's train of thought was sudden broken by the sound of a yell, followed by a loud thump on the floor. Rushing out to see what had happened, she saw one of the young male students laying on the floor with a small amount of blood dripping from his mouth. Standing over him with a very angry Madison. Reese regained her composer and walked away without so much as a word. Faye didn't seem to surprised, she just went about reading her book. When Xan faced her, Faye looked up and replied to the question she knew would be asked. "It happens all the time, some of the others seem to think we're just here for their entertainment, the last one to think that way got a fractured jaw and bruised ribs for his trouble."

Xandra was more then just a little puzzled, while she was quite aware of sexual harassment, it was not something she actually experienced herself, nor had anyone close to her. She pondered for a moment, fleeting second thoughts about if this was the right place for her. But then she just remembered her uncle's words, and the sight of that magnificent machine. No matter what this new life of hers threw at her, she would stay on the path she choose. _I'm not letting anything stop me from piloting that machine._ "Well I guess I'll just have to stay on guard then" she said with a smirk.

Faye glanced up a moment from her book and smiled. _Maybe this one will last longer then the other 'kids' who thought they could get an early pass into the military._

**Wrap up**: Mostly an intro of main and not so main characters. So much I could get into, so little time to write it all. And a special note to Newtype Alpha, thanks for the comment, long time no see, I was starting to wonder if I'd ever hear from you again lol. You should get back on AIM sometime, we got lots of catching up to do.


	3. Chapter 02: The Road not Taken

**Title**: Mobile Suit Zaku  
**Chapter 02**: The Road not Taken  
**Disclaimer**: Some names, characters, places and events contained in this story are copyrights of Bandai Entertainment. All others are intellectual property of American Zaku Productions. This story is Fanfiction based on the sci-fi anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. It is an original story spin-off of that series which follows the life of Xandra Zabi during the horrific One Year War.  
**Author's Notes**: I wasn't able to find out much about Garma pre-OYW, specifically, about when he entered the military, so I have to take some liberties in this chapter. 

**Chapter 02  
The Road not Taken  
0073.12.24 UC**

Walking down the dark corridor, the only sounds she could hear were of the echoes of her footsteps and her heartbeat. The enemy was near, her pulse was racing and she was getting nervous. The concrete floor, walls and ceiling created an ominous chill. There was hardly any light, but her eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness. Exiting the corridor into a large room, Xandra quickly scanned her new surroundings. The room was big, the darkness shrouded its full size, but she estimated about fifty by fifty yards and over ten feet high. A few columns along with the lack of light made it impossible to know for sure. Standing around wasn't going to get her anywhere; she knew her objective wasn't too far off. Taking a deep breath she made a dash for the other side of the room. The moment she took her first step, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the room. She could see the spark of light coming from the shooter's location. Taking cover behind a column, she took hold of her gun from the holster on her hip. Xan would make out the outline of the next column and it wasn't too far. Making another attempt for a run and turned and fired blindly in the direction the shots were coming from as she ran towards the column. This time however no shots were fired. She thought it was odd, but so much was rushing through her head she didn't stop to think about it clearly. Now she could see a way out, a light in the darkness, the outline of a doorway. After a moment's hesitation, she made a run for it. But they were ready for her, without her having noticed they had repositioned themselves in the darkness and now had her surrounded. The ceiling lit up brightly as the many lights were turned on and a loud buzzer went off signaling the end of the drill. "Congratulations Zabi, you're dead", said the drill instructor with a rather sarcastic tone.

"Damnit! Why the hell didn't I see that coming?" Xan slammed her fist against her dorm room wall.

Faye, standing in the doorway just let out a sigh. "Don't beat yourself up over it, we all bombed that test, it's a no win scenario. Sending in a lone person with no real special ops training to infiltrate a facility you know nothing about. There really isn't much point to it."

Madison, as always, had her own ideas about things. "I heard it's supposed to be a test to find out of you can tell where people are without seeing them. Some kinda psychic thing."

"You don't really believe all that Newtype stuff Deikun said do you? People take it far too literally, and it's just turning into propaganda." Faye was always a 'non-believer' when it came to the Newtype theory.

As Xan listened to them argue the point back and forth, she thought about what she did, and what she could have done during the drill. Whenever she made a mistake, she always made a point of analyzing it to make sure she didn't repeat it. But she still couldn't come to any final realization. 

"Hey Zabi, you got a visitor" a voice yelled out from outside the dorm.

Xan looked up a little puzzled, she wasn't expecting anyone, least of all who stepped into the room. A young officer entered, someone whom she knew from somewhere but couldn't quite place where until she heard his voice. "It's been a while, how have you been?"

"Garma? Is that you?" Xan hadn't seen him since she left for Side 6 all those years ago. She was never particularly close to any of Degwin's children despite being raised as though she were one of their siblings. Garma was the only one that made her feel as though she was part of the family. Faye and Madison stood and saluted when he entered, though a low ranking officer fresh out of the Academy, he was still their superior.

Garma smiled and handed her a wrapped box. "I was going to give this to you when you got back, but work kept getting in the way. So I thought this being Christmas Eve would be as good a time as any, welcome home Xandra." Faye motioned to Madison that they should leave and not intrude on the family reunion. The two quietly slipped out as Xan smiled and thanked Garma for the gift. "Being a soldier doesn't quite seem to suit you, I never would have expected you to enter the Academy, let alone at your age and under the advanced placement program."

Xan blushed a bit when she replied. "Well, I just didn't see my life going in any other meaningful direction. And after seeing that..."

Garma wasn't sure what she meant at first, and then he figured it out. "So father showed you the prototype mobile suit huh? It's still a long way off from being a useable craft. Even the space construction units it was based on just aren't reliable for combat."

Her face turned as he spoke, her expression now one of worry. "You really think there will be a war someday? Between the Federation and us? The thought of defending her homeland was inspiring to her, though she had often times ignored the possibility of going into live combat. It was something she just tried not to think about. She would always just think of chasing off the Federation blockade and defend the colonies from any aggression. In all honesty, the thought of going on an offensive scared the hell out of her.

"I really don't see how it can be avoided. The Earth Federation refuses to acknowledge any colony as an independent nation, and to top things off Gihren has been getting more and more aggressive. If I didn't know better, I'd think he really wanted a war and was just biding his time until we had enough firepower. I hope that's not how it is, but sometimes I wonder." He stopped for a moment and noticed her expression. "Sorry, I don't mean to worry you. At any rate, I don't think father would allow him to just go off and start a war like that, but in the end it'll be up to the Federation to just give us what's rightfully ours."

"I suppose." It was all she could really say.

"Well, I better be going, I'm due to leave on a new Chivvay class fresh out of the shipyards. It was good seeing you again."

Xandra gave him a hug and told him to be careful out there, but she was more worried about her own future then ever before. She was starting to think of things she had put great effort into not thinking of. Before returning to Side 3 she did have other plans on how to spend her life. Part of her fascination with the Mobile Suit was from her skills as a talented engineering student; it was the field she was aiming to go into. Originally she though she could land a high paying job designing and constructing colony construction machines or intercolony transport shuttles. But ever since seeing that huge humanoid machine, something in her stirred, she knew she had to be a part of that project. But now, she was just realizing how far deep in she was getting herself.

She looked down at the present from Garma and began unwrapping it. As she pulled back the cover, a look of surprise appeared. In the box was a picture of a man who she could hardly remember, but she knew who it was. "How did he manage to find a picture of my father?" It was something that had always bothered her. For reasons no one would say, other then 'national security', she was never allowed to see any records relating to her father. Even pictures were seemingly removed from everywhere. She clutched the picture to her chest as distant memories began coming back to her. She remembered vast open skies and endless blue seas, memories of a trip to Earth, a place she had never been to at any other time in her life. Overcome with emotion she nearly collapsed. She had spent so much of her life wondering about her real parents. She wondered if Garma found something out. But if he did, why would he not have just told her?

The picture, which rested in a frame on a table next to her bed, kept her father in her thoughts all that week. Even during her classes and drills she couldn't stop thinking that she wasn't told the truth about what happened to him. In fact, she realized she was never told anything other then that he died when she was two years old. She was clearly distracted by this and Faye and Madison noticed fairly quickly though they didn't want to press the issue if Xan didn't want to talk about it. But when it began affecting their team performance they felt they had no choice but to confront her.

One night after a less then spectacular flight simulation drill, the three returned to their dorm as usual. "So are you going to say what's been eating at you or are we just gunna hafta beat it otta ya?" Madison was never one for subtlety.

"It's nothing... really." Xan replied, though neither of them believed it for a second.

Faye looked her right in the eyes. "Look, you've been acting weird ever since Garma showed up, so what happened with you two?"

"Nothing. . . not anything to do with him, not really. It's personal. . . " She was trying, very unsuccessfully to dodge the issue, the two girls had caught her off guard, she had not realized that her mental state was so obvious.

Madison glared angrily at Xan's reply. "It's gettin' in the way of our kickin' the butts of those damn guys."

"Eloquently put as always Reese." Faye muttered. "Look, something is obviously bothering you, so why not just tell us. If you can't trust us, then who can you trust?"

Xandra thought it over for a moment. Faye had a point, in two years they may very well be going into battle together, and if they were going to be a team they needed to trust each other. And Xan began telling them about her father and the mystery surrounding his death. The girls gave a sympathetic look of suspicion, something was wrong and anyone could see that.

"Well, no problem, we'll help you figure it out." Faye said confidently. "My family has a lot of political and military ties, I'm sure someone knows something."

"Yeah, and before the Principality was formed and took over the press, my family ran a newspaper, they probably have all kinds of inside info." Madison took out a small black book and began sifting through pages looking for contact info.

Xan was speechless. She couldn't come up with words to express her gratitude to them, not just for they're wanting to help, but for being sympathetic to what she was going through. Because of her family, sympathy was not something she saw much of in life. A meek "thank you" was all she could mutter as the three went to work on finding the answers Xan had waiting for the past thirteen years

**Wrap up**: The first real foreshadowing about Xan's past just happened and I'll be expanding on it all throughout the story, lets just say the Zabis have more then just a few skeletons in the closet lol..


End file.
